Although it was a chilly day at New Brunswick's Parlee Beach on Thursday, a few people decided to hang out on the shore.
A greater concern than the weather was the water quality, which prompted a complaint about the provincial government’s handling of water quality issues.
The first official day of summer arrived with an official complaint from some Shediac Bay, N.B., residents who allege the provincial government is violating its own regulations.
“We feel there is a general lack of transparency, and we're trying to make it the best possible place,” said Tim Borlase of the Red Dot Association. “We live here!”
The Red Dot Association is asking the RCMP to investigate the provincial government, alleging it violated its own environmental and public health laws by allowing wastewater to enter Shediac Bay.
“Given the past history of the contamination at the beach, we want to be assured that this is really going to be fixed,” Borlase said.
The complaint caught New Brunswick Health Minister Benoit Bourque off guard.
“Well, I was surprised,” he said.
Bourque also denied the allegation that regulations are not being followed.
“We have regulations and it’s our responsibility to enforce them and that is what we're doing,” Bourque said.
He said people are being educated about the water quality at Parlee Beach now more than ever.
“We are proving through the sampling and studies that water quality at Parlee Beach is excellent,” he said.
But not everybody is on board with that idea yet.
“I swim a lot, or I did, long-distance swimming, and now I don't feel comfortable doing so,” said Shediac Bay resident Janet Leblanc.
Unless something is done, there will be lingering doubts over quality this summer.
The Red Dot Association is expecting to hear back from the RCMP on their complaint sometime in early July.
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Nick Moore.
